Fort Hill helicopter crash victim in stable but serious condition

Pilot identified as 80-year-old local resident

By David Wright - dwright@timesgazette.com

Paramedics approach the scene of an ultralight helicopter crash in the Fort Hill area Friday.

David Wright | The Times-Gazette

A man whose ultralight helicopter crash-landed Friday in the remote hills of southeast Highland County remained in stable but serious condition Monday after he sustained severe injuries when his aircraft plunged to the ground, authorities said.

Sgt. Bob Burd of the Ohio State Highway Patrol Wilmington Post said Charles E. Lindamood, 80, of Carmel Road, has not yet been well enough to speak with authorities about why his ultralight crashed.

Burd said Lindamood sustained serious injuries in the crash off Carmel Road before being flown via medical helicopter to Kettering Medical Center.

As previously reported, Lindamood spoke with his son over the phone after he crashed at around 4:30 p.m. Friday, saying he had landed in a field about a mile north of his property on Carmel Road.

But with much of the land in that part of the county covered with fields, forests and steep inclines, authorities could not pinpoint his exact location.

After hunting for him for nearly an hour and a half, officials were about to deploy the sheriff’s office drone when two construction workers located the ultralight at a property on Carmel Road near Butters Road, a little over 100 feet off the roadway.

Brad Kennedy, one of the workers, told The Times-Gazette at the scene that he and his friend had arrived at the property after work and saw the aircraft lying in a grassy area by a bean field. The two men immediately rushed to help Lindamood, who was trapped in the aircraft and badly injured, but able to speak, Kennedy said.

According to Kennedy, Lindamood had a large gash on his arm, complained of back pain and was having difficulty breathing. When authorities arrived, he was rushed to the back of an ambulance and treated until a medical helicopter arrived.

The impact of the landing apparently blew out the ultralight’s windshield, bent its rotors and damaged portions of its frame.

Burd said the incident remains under investigation.

Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.

Paramedics approach the scene of an ultralight helicopter crash in the Fort Hill area Friday.

https://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2018/07/web1_f-helicopter-crash-5.jpgParamedics approach the scene of an ultralight helicopter crash in the Fort Hill area Friday. David Wright | The Times-Gazette